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Every Sales Leader Needs To Hear This
All sales leaders and managers need to know: this economic shift will prove whether you are a good sales leader; or not.
I don’t want to diminish any company’s success in the last year. However…
Hitting quota these past several years was great, but everyone was buying. We had a hot market; people were spending. Every sales leader had loose and open budgets, and we were all fixated on growth.
Now, CEOs and founders will finally prove, without any doubt, whether they have good leaders. So, sales leadership, beware.
If your leader continues to conduct business the same way you have been for the last few years, you’re in trouble.
I can’t be more straightforward. Every sales leader needs to read this.
Cash flow will determine your survival
If you don’t have cash flow, you’re not going to make it.
Businesses need sales leaders and sales teams to bring in money now more than ever. Sales performance will determine businesses’ survival.
Funding is drying up. Investor confidence is down across the board, and growth rounds are primarily dead on arrival, with both seed and Series A valuations down by 30%-50%.
People are calling in their loans. Customers will pay as little and less freely. Money is scarce.
The only source of revenue is sales organizations.Â
Sales organizations exist to ensure goals and quotas are hit irrespective of market conditions. When market conditions change, your sales plans and strategies need to change.Â
You cannot continue to deploy the same strategies over and over again that was true and relevant for a different market.Â
Sales leaders, our opinion is straightforward, you need to hit quota, irrespective of the market conditions.Â
Your sales reps must hit quota in this new market; if they don’t, it reflects your poor leadership skills and communication skills.Â
Now some sales leaders may disagree. But the sad reality is these leaders’ hearts do not truly lie with the sales team or the organization.Â
Sales Accelerator Process
We evaluate your compensation structure, prospects, tech stack, sales playbooks, sales strategy, sales process, sales tools, hiring and onboarding to ignite revenue growth and performance.
Sell at a profit; no exception!
Different time. Different economy. In a recession, positive cash flow is vital.
The exact sales position, strategies, and systems will no longer work in a recession. But this does not change your quota or goal.
Companies need sales leaders and the organization now more than ever. They will solely rely on the revenue generated by the sales team.
Understand the purpose of a sales department is to fund all business activities.
As things get more expensive and complicated, your sales team continues to bring in the money to ensure the company continues going in the right direction.
Think about it like this: your sales organization is the battery for your business.
It contributes to the business’s success in good market conditions, but when the market turns, it switches on as the primary power source, so your lights do not go off.
Yes. The primary power source will likely strain under the challenge, but you, as the sales leader, have built the battery to endure, adapt and perform in these conditions.
It works precisely when you need it; a revenue engine.
Your organization must not adapt to working in the dark; progress continues with all the lights on.
Manage your payroll
Managing your payroll doesn’t mean firing sales team members; you must hold them accountable to existing targets and goals.
All sales leaders need to understand that the current economy will prove to your business leader whether you have the best interest of their sales organization and, in turn, the company at heart; or whether you are a self-serving person.
Many sales managers are concerned about the sales challenges ahead, but lowering the goal is not the answer. Sales leaders understand that you will get employees laid off when you ask the sales team to reduce the goal.
The sales leader must hold every sales rep accountable, which comes down to quality sales management.
Your leadership needs to recognize it’s time to adopt a new sales strategy, tighten up your sales processes, and reinforce coaching and training the sales team members to overcome challenges in daily huddles or one-on-one meetings.
If sales leadership does their job, you will save jobs by adjusting the sales strategy. It’s that simple.
Team Assessment
We use a combination of Kolbe and PRINT® assessments to identify every team member’s strengths and motivators and even illuminate bad-fit placements amongst leadership and salespeople.
Focus your sales managers on what matters
Sales leaders need to focus on making money. As the sales director, you need to ensure your engine systems are running; optimize your sales cycle, sales process, and sales tools for the current market.Â
You need to double down on the sales efforts that make money, including:Â
- Lead generation and sourcing prospectsÂ
- Do not stop your marketing efforts
- Optimizing for conversion to sell
- Investing in existing customers. Â
- Understand customer’s pain points and prioritize solutions
- Re-engage with past customers
- Create recurring revenue opportunities
The bottom line: know the value in what you offer and show it to your clients so that they buy into life-long deals that equal “cash first.”Â
Once your customers see the value in your sales ability, go back with additional monthly up-sells for redefined value.
Avoid a data-centric mindset. If it is tough for you, it is tough for everybody else, so adopting a solutions-focus mindset for your clients will provide you with more significant revenue opportunities.Â
Boost your sales performance with Rose Garden
Remember: recession and economic downturn don’t spell the end. Every sales leader is expected to lead and meet company goals. And the sales quota does not change.Â
Boost your cash flow and weather the storm. The impending downturn creates a huge sales opportunity for those who dare to seize it.
Business leaders, for the elite few, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. Do you want to see your business succeed?
Let me be clear, if you were going to find the solution to your sales team’s issues, you would have solved them by now.
You likely need support to solve and manage them. You can’t afford to leave anything up to chance.Â
We help your sales leader and sales manager close deals faster and at a higher rate. Rose Garden is solutions-focused, so if you want me and my team to ignite your revenue growth, we will do so with our Sales Accelerator Process and Team Assessment.
Startups and SMEs must stay up-to-date and ahead of the competition in today’s ever-evolving sales landscape. We provide Founders and CEOs with hands-on coaching, tools, and support to create systems & strategies to scale their sales teams.Â
You can’t afford to leave anything up to chance.
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About the author:
Ali Mirza is the Founder & CEO of Rose Garden, a national sales consulting organization, and featured in Forbes, Inc, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Business Rockstars, and The Wall Street Journal.
Ali is a highly sought-after public speaker presenting at multiple national conferences on innovative ways to accomplish transformational growth on your sales team.
Rose Garden provides unparalleled support and guidance to growth-minded founders via sales strategy differentiation, world-class sales culture creation, and exclusive playbooks, processes, and scripts to position them for limitless growth.
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